In many diseases it is essential for a successful treatment that the state of the disease can be discovered and a certain diagnosis be made at an early stage. This is the case for instance in tumour diseases, such as cancer, and the prospects of survival of the cancer patient is entirely dependent upon the spreading of the cancer tumour at the point of time when the diagnosis is made.
Diagnosis of tumour diseases can be made by microscopical examination of the appearance and dyeability of body cells, so called cytology, which is made daily in certain hospitals having doctors educated for such examination. Specimens intended for cytological testing can be taken from body tissue by means of pin-pricks or by scraping off a cell specimen from a mucous membrane. The specimen is then processed by a fixative which results in ceasing the metabolism of the cells and their appearance and dyeability being preserved. A small and durable preparation is thereby obtained which is suitable for being forwarded by mail to a laboratory for cytological examination. By this method it has proved possible to discover for instance abdominal cancer at an early stage.
Body cells are continuously rejected from the urinary bladder and the urethra and accompany the urine out. By cytological examination of such cells from a urine specimen it is possible to establish the presence of cancer cells, if any, whereby cancer in the urinary bladder can be diagnosed. Such examination of cells from urine specimens is carried out at present in hospitals in which cytologists are available and in which such examination can consequently be made relatively soon after the specimen has been taken. Cells appearing in urine specimens are destroyed rapidly by putrefaction, whereby a proper microscopical examination thereof is made impossible after only a few hours.
There is a strong desire to be able to collect body liquid specimens, especially urine specimens, for cytological examination even in hospitals in which cytologists are not available. For such a specimen however, a relatively large amount of liquid is required which is a disadvantage when the specimen is to be sent by mail to the laboratory. In addition, since the specimen must be fixed to prevent the cells from being destroyed, which is made by adding a liquid fixative, the amount of liquid will be further increased.
In order to reduce the volume of the liquid it would be desirable to provide a concentrate of a urine specimen with a high percentage of body cells. However, a simple and reliable method and equipment for this purpose has hitherto not been presented.
Patients with urethra cancer have often had a urinary bladder inconvenience for a long time, such as half a year, before a correct diagnosis is made. At an early stage the diagnosis of urethra infection is usually made and the patient is treated therefore for a long time. When such treatment does not produce the desired result, the mucous membrane of the bladder is inspected by means of an instrument, so called cystoscope, in order to establish the possible presence of cancer. This examination is painful and must often be carried out under narcotics. In addition, cancer cells are often present in the urine before the tumour has become visible in the urinary bladder.